Some of those high profile figures include Former Indiana Congressman and pro-life Democrat Tim Roemer, Catholic legal scholar Doug Kmiec, and author Donald Miller. You can also expect a soon to be named Evangelical North Carolina (red state) Congressman to travel the country as well. All of these surrogates are well versed and comfortable talking faith and politics. This is clearly a sign by the Obama campaign that they plan to target red state and swing state moderates.

A campaign official tells me the tour is designed to feature the “strong faith and values” of both Barack Obama and running mate Joe Biden. Issues will range from healthcare to poverty to the economy to climate change to yes, even abortion. The campaign understands tough questions may come their way but they’re ready with an answer of how they can reduce abortions.

While conservative Evangelicals have flocked to Palin, the Obama campaign is targeting voters from so many of the other faith traditions. The Brody File has been told that even with Palin now in the race, the Obama campaign’s internal faith polling shows them to be doing better than expected with other denominations besides conservative Evangelicals.

For example, they have their sites on places like Ohio which is home to roughly 500,000 United Methodists alone.

This tour will last about a month or so and will be in a town hall format where these speakers and others will give their talks in community centers and gyms and then take questions afterwards.

Among the states on the list are Colorado Indiana, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Florida, New Mexico, Virginia and Wisconsin. Remember, the Obama campaign believes the White Catholic vote is very much in play especially in places like Pennsylvania. Plus, while conservative Evangelicals are not going to head Obama’s way, the campaign believes they can win over those moderate and liberal Evangelicals, Catholics and even some conservative mainline Protestants.

When Obama and Clinton tried this last year, the idea of them winning in red stats like North Carolina and Indiana, which went for George W. Bush by 15-percent or more in 2004, seemed far fetched. Not so anymore.

Interesting to note that new polling suggests that Obama’s surge in the red state comes in spite of McCain’s strong performance among white evangelicals. The Illinois senator is benefitting from strong support in cities, among young voters, blacks, and women. A new national poll actually shows McCain with a 71 – 21 percent lead among white evangelicals, up from 65 – 25 percent around a month ago.

That leads God-o-Meter to wonder: is Obama’s surge in the red states among certain demographics–women, for instance–due in part to his evangelical outreach making non-evangelicals more comfortable with him? It’s like of like Republicans appealing to African American voters to make white suburbanites more comfortable with backing the GOP. According to this theory, non-evangelicals like Obama’s faith- and evangelical-friendliness, even if their not very religious themselves.

do you know that partial birth abortion involves killing a baby by drilling a hole in its skull after the rest of its still alive body has been born?
can you believe b.hussein obama has children and can still support this?
this is so sick.
DON’T DRINK THE KOOLAID !

Do you know that the Iraq War involves thousands of American soldiers and Iraqi civilians being shot to death, blown up by landmines, incinerated by rocket launchers, grenades, and bombs, and returning to America in flag-draped coffins?
Can you believe Sarah Palin has a son in the Army and still supports this illegal, unnecessary, and unjust war?
This is so sick!
DON’T DRINK THE KOOLAID!!!

I know that many of us r put off by the “compassionate conservatism” that has led to the loss of innocent civilian lives via lack of precision in Iraq, etc. The TRUTH however is that the total # of civilian deaths in Iraq, at ~90,000* PALES in comparison to the 1.2 to 1.5 MILLION INNOCENT BABIES ABORTED in the US EVERY YEAR! (Or 40,000,000 since Roe v.Wade). The loss of civilian life is a tragedy that needs to be rectified! The genocidal killing of >1 million babies a yr is an incredibly sick TRAVESTY that needs just remedy! Obama is Pro-Choice. Just Google “Obama planned parenthood” if u have any doubts. In a particular Planned Parenthood video Obama infers that he will put Pro-Choice judges in the Supreme Court & that a woman’s right to choose is paramount. But its also about the RIGHTS of the unborn, who have NO VOICE! CNN.com recently noted that Obama in his 1st term could appoint several judges to the Court. Imagine if he gets a 2nd term! McCain-Palin isn’t a super-choice, but is a good choice & they are PRO-LIFE! (*Note: We also don’t know how many people would have continued to die in Iraq under Sadam’s regime if the US never invaded…)

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Previous Posts

Closed for the SeasonWith Election Day finally having come and gone, God-o-Meter is closing up shop till 2012--or at least 2010. Till then, get your faith and politics fix over at Beliefnet editor-in-chief Steve Waldman's blog.
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Howard Dean's VindicationGod-o-Meter wrote a piece for today's Roll Call on the vindication of Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean's much-derided 50-State Strategy, which is largely about reaching out to the nation's more religious voters in the red states:
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A Post-Election Chat with Ralph ReedAmid today's talk that Barack Obama has narrowed the God Gap, God-o-Meter checked in with Ralph Reed, who spearheaded religious outreach for George W. Bush's 2000 and 2004 campaigns and who pioneered such outreach for Republicans as executive director of the Christian Coalition.
What surprised you i

More Innacurate Faith Storylines From the MediaGod-o-Meter is struck by the number of faith-based storylines the news media appear to have gotten dead wrong this year.
One was the line that Obama was poised to make big gains among white votes, especially evangelicals, who were undergoing a generational shift in their political thinking and reexa

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The God-o-Meter (pronounced Gah-DOM-meter) scientifically measures factors such as rate of God-talk, effectiveness—saying God wants a capital gains tax cut doesn't guarantee a high rating—and other top-secret criteria (Actually, the adjustment criteria are here). Click a candidate's head to get his or her latest God-o-Meter reading and blog post. And check back often. With so much happening on the campaign trail, God-o-Meter is constantly recalibrating!

God-o-Meter blogger Dan Gilgoff is Beliefnet's Politics Editor. A former political correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, he is author of The Jesus Machine: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America are Winning the Culture War.